For more than 20 years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has declared the immediate offshore waters of Glen Cove west of Matinecock Point to be polluted in the sense that the taking of shellfish is prohibited.

Numerous attempts by Mr. Arthur Leach, a well-known authority on wildlife conservation, to have this situation re-evaluated by the NYSDEC have fallen on the deaf ears of the NYSDEC.

No longer is this the case. I had the good fortune to accompany Mr. Leach to the office of New York State Senator Carl Marcellino. My purpose in visiting the senator was not directly related to the above matter, but it was a great opportunity to see Mr. Leach in action and the affirmative response made by Senator Marcellino in this particular matter.

Senator Marcellino, who is chairman of the NYSDEC Committee, was on the phone immediately with the officials of the DEC. A conference call ensued involving DEC management, Mr. Leach and the senator. It is my opinion that both Mr. Leach and the senator convinced the NYSDEC of their omissions in their previous failures to follow up on the scientific testing of the waterways along the shoreline of Glen Cove as Mr. Leach had been requesting for several years.

I wish to thank Senator Marcellino for his prompt assistance. I want to also commend Mr. Arthur Leach for the intestinal fortitude he continues to display concerning wildlife issues influenced and controlled by the NYSDEC.

Robert N. Pemberton Sr.